Hillside walk, 18 June 2018
Today's observations include the thrill of a completely new observation, the heartleaf penstemon (Keckiella cordifolia) — which is not a penstemon at all. It's in full bloom. And there are multiple plants, about half way up the Lida Street hill from the horseshoe bend, on the cliff face of the road cutting opposite Canyon 2.
A seasonal thrill today was to find Plummer's mariposa lily (Calochortus plummerae), just a single flower, on the south hillside. It's the same plant that I've been observing for several years.
Last week I incorrectly reported that the flowers of sacapellote (Acourtia microcephala), while widespread, were this year not producing the usual purple petals, possibly because of the dry season. This week these flowers have plenty of gorgeous petals.
What a pleasure it is to see the southern honeysuckle (Lonicera subspicata var. denudata) blooming so fully in so many locations.
Another plant at the peak of it's bloom is the branching phacelia (Phacelia ramosissima) in Canyon 8. This plant appears to be spreading, or maybe I've not previously noticed the area covered by either this one plant or these several plants.
At the bottom of the north hillside the clustered tarplant (Deinandra fasciculata) is now blooming. However, only two or three plants are to be seen, which compares poorly with last year's many.
